Rivierlandschap met figuren langs de waterkant c. 1733 - 1762

This landscape with figures by Jean Moyreau is an etching, a printmaking technique that has a fascinating relationship to labor. The etcher coats a metal plate with a waxy ground, then scratches an image into it with a needle. The plate is then immersed in acid, which bites into the exposed lines. This process can be repeated to achieve different depths of line, and therefore different tonal effects when the plate is inked and printed. In this etching, the atmospheric perspective and detailed rendering of figures demonstrate the etcher's command of the medium. But behind the image lies the labor of the artisan: the careful preparation of the plate, the precise scratching of the image, and the repetitive printing process. Etchings like this were often made for commercial purposes, to be sold as inexpensive reproductions of paintings. So, the image speaks to a growing culture of consumption, and the role of craft in satisfying it.